Fincher saves day for Wolfpack, Rodon struggles

RALEIGH – Late on pitches during his previous trips to the plate, Jake Fincher vowed that his swings would be early as he stepped for Saturday’s decisive at-bat.

That helped produce a game-winning moment that was right on time for North Carolina State.

Fincher ripped a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning that scored Jake Armstrong and completed the Wolfpack’s 4-3 rally past Rice in the opener of the NCAA super regional at Doak Field.

“Just not to get beat and not to be behind,” Fincher said, “that’s all I was looking for.”

N.C. State entered its half of the ninth scoreless since the first inning, trailing 3-2 and – after quite literally squeezing across two runs on one lone hit – left with a walk-off victory that sent players pouring out of the dugout and swarming Fincher as he rounded first base.

The Wolfpack (48-14) can clinch the school’s second berth in College World Series, and first appearance there since 1968, with another win against the Owls (44-19), whose hope Sunday will be to force the best-of-3 series to a winner-take-all game Monday.

On Saturday, after ace Carlos Rodon pitched into the ninth inning but never reached his dominating best, N.C. State’s last-gasp comeback from down 3-2 started on Brett Williams’ leadoff walk against Rice closer Zech Lemond.

Williams stole second base and advanced to third base on Lemond’s errant pickoff attempt, a miscue Rice second basemen Christian Stringer, who got a glove on the throw, and the Owls later lamented.

“We had a few uncharacteristic mistakes when we were in position to win the game,” Rice coach Wayne Graham said. “That’s the way the game is. You can’t make mistakes at the wrong time.”

Lemond (7-2), who began Saturday with 14 saves and an earned run average of 1.52, next struck out Bryan Adametz and plunked Armstrong, setting up a first-and-third situation for N.C. State, trailing by a run with one out.

“When I saw that bunt I went, ‘Oh lord, why’d I call that?’” Avent said. “Next thing I saw (Williams) flying across the plate. I don’t know if he’s ever ran a faster time from third to home.”

Williams slid in headfirst under Rice catcher Hunter Kopycinski’s sweeping tag to tie the score 3-3. Williams’ momentum propelled him forward, somersaulting onto his feet after he arrived at home plate, with the N.C. State fans at once erupting and exhaling.

Page 2 of 3 - Graham, the veteran Rice coach of 22 seasons, said Fox’s throw home there left something to be desired. Fox had entered the game in the top of the ninth as a pinch runner, and the first defensive sequence he played a part in came on Ratledge’s safety squeeze with Williams racing toward home.

Meanwhile, back at third base before Ratledge successfully placed the bunt, Williams was poised for takeoff to deliver the tying run.

“After the first attempt failed, I knew they really were going to be ready for it,” Williams said. “So I tried to get the best jump I possibly could. Kind of played the catcher, he was out in front of the plate a little bit, so I went to the backside and snuck my hand in.”

Trea Turner’s nubber to first base was N.C. State’s second out in the bottom of the ninth. That moved Armstrong to third base, Ratledge to second and brought Fincher to the plate.

“The whole day I’d been really kind of behind, because all their guys are so good,” Fincher said. “(Lemond) had really good velocity, so I was really just trying to be ready to hit any pitch and try to be early. He threw me probably the same curveball the second pitch that he threw me after the first pitch.”

Which meant the Wolfpack’s at-bats went like this in the ninth inning; walk, strikeout, hit by pitch, run-scoring bunt on fielder’s choice, groundout, game-winning single to left field.

“We took a one-run lead into the ninth,” said Stringer, the Rice second baseman. “We had a great closer who we want on the mound. We were set up like we wanted to be and it just didn’t happen for us.”

Stringer’s RBI double off N.C. State bullpen stopper Grant Sasser put the Owls ahead 3-2 in the top of the ninth and injected some deflation into the Wolfpack’s home crowd.

Earlier in the top of the ninth, back-to-back singles by Skyler Ewing and Kopycinski ended Rodon’s start. The sturdy left-hander – so overpowering this postseason with a combined 19 innings, three hits allowed, no earned runs and 24 strikeouts prior to Saturday – yielded 11 hits and three runs to Rice while striking out nine.

“Obviously (I) didn’t have everything in the arsenal,” Rodon said, adding he struggled with his slider, his out pitch, and was most comfortable with his fastball. “It would’ve been nice to have that complementary slider to go with it.”

N.C. State jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first and didn’t score again until the bottom of the ninth.

Turner’s led off the Wolfpack’s first inning with a double and eventually came home on Tarran Senay’s run-scoring groundout. Then Fincher, who reached base after being beaned, scored on a wild pitch.

Page 3 of 3 - Rice ace Austin Kubitza, a fourth-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers on Friday, settled in from there and worked into the eighth inning, scattering five hits and striking out eight batters.

The Owls pulled even at 2-2 on Ewing’s two-out single in the fourth inning and Stringer’s solo homer over the right-field fence in the fifth. That blast came on a 92 mph offering from Rodon. Stringer turned the inside pitch for his second home run in his 240th at-bat of the season.